100 Proofs That Islam Is True (Part 14): Miracles Witnessed by Many
Mufti Faijullah Aman
Introduction
The greatest miracle of the Prophet (peace be upon him) is the Qur'an, which we discussed in Parts 1, 2, 10, and 11. It is an everlasting miracle that anyone can still examine today. But alongside it, Allah caused many other miraculous events at his hands, which the people of his time saw with their own eyes.
The main subject of today's discussion is not only the miracles themselves, but who witnessed them, and how many.
1. Water Flowing From His Fingers
On the journey to Hudaybiyyah, the companions were extremely thirsty. The water for drinking and ablution had run out, and only a little water remained in a small vessel before the Prophet. He placed his hand in that vessel, and water began to flow from between his fingers like a spring. Everyone drank and made ablution.
The companion Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) was asked: how many of you were there? He said: "Even if we had been a hundred thousand, it would have been enough for us. We were fifteen hundred." (Sahih al-Bukhari)
Fifteen hundred people saw it together and drank together. And Anas, Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with them), and many other companions described similar miracles of water on different occasions.
2. Blessing in the Food on the Day of the Trench
During the Battle of the Trench, the companions were digging the trench while hungry. Jabir (may Allah be pleased with him) saw that the Prophet had a stone tied to his stomach from hunger. He went home and slaughtered a small young goat, and his wife prepared a little barley bread, enough for only a few people. He quietly invited the Prophet.
The Prophet called all the people of the trench and brought them along. Jabir said: by Allah, they were a thousand. They all ate their fill and left, yet our cooking pot was still bubbling as before, and bread was still being made from the dough as before. (Sahih al-Bukhari)
3. The Weeping of the Palm Trunk
In the Prophet's mosque, the Prophet used to lean on the trunk of a date palm while giving the sermon. Later, a pulpit was made for him. On the first day he stood on the pulpit, the people filling the mosque heard the trunk making a sound like a weeping child. The Prophet came down and embraced the trunk, and it gradually became calm. (Sahih al-Bukhari)
This happened on a Friday in front of a mosque full of companions. Hadith scholars state that it is narrated from more than ten companions, so its narration reaches the level of mutawatir, transmitted by so many that error is impossible.
4. The Splitting of the Moon
The idol-worshippers of Makkah demanded a sign from the Prophet. Then they saw the moon split into two pieces, one piece on one side of the mountain and the other piece on the other side. The Prophet said: "Bear witness." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)
After this event it was revealed: "The Hour has drawn near, and the moon has split. But if they see a sign, they turn away and say: this is continuing magic." (Surah al-Qamar 54:1-2)
Notice that these verses were recited openly before the people of Makkah. If the splitting of the moon had not happened, the idol-worshippers would immediately have said: we saw nothing, your Book is lying. They did not say that. Instead, the Qur'an itself recorded their reaction: they called it magic. In other words, they did not deny the event; they only argued about its explanation.
Calling Him a Magician Is Itself an Admission
There is an important point here. The Prophet's enemies never said these events did not happen. They said he was a magician. The Qur'an mentions this accusation of theirs again and again. And calling someone a magician means that something extraordinary is happening at his hands that they cannot explain. This very accusation of the enemies proves that the events took place before everyone's eyes.
But a magician's magic is an illusion of the eyes; it does not quench thirst, and it does not fill the stomach. Yet fifteen hundred people truly drank, and a thousand people truly ate their fill.
Why Is This a Proof?
One person can lie, and perhaps ten can conspire. But fifteen hundred or a thousand people, from different tribes, with different natures, who later spread across different lands, all inventing the same lie together and keeping it secret for their whole lives, is impossible. In the science of hadith, such a narration is called mutawatir, narrated through so many chains that there is no possibility of falsehood. And the overall reports of the Prophet's miracles certainly reach this level.
Conclusion
The Prophet's miracles did not happen in a hidden room before one or two people. They happened in the open field, on the battlefield, in the Friday mosque, before the eyes of enemies. The witnesses were thousands, and even the enemies could not deny them. Through these signs, Allah bore witness that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is His true Messenger.
In the next part, the fifteenth proof, in sha Allah.
